What Are Examples of Consumer Markets?
Examples of consumer markets include financial services, consumer electronics, food and beverages, apparel and accessories, leisure and entertainment, and healthcare. These are markets in which buyers purchase products or services for personal consumption rather than resale.
Consumer markets are often defined more precisely by separating and identifying key customer groups. Factors used for this purpose include demographic, psychographic, behavioral and geographic characteristics. Knowing the particular characteristics of a given consumer market enables businesses to sell more products by meeting customer needs more effectively.
Demographic characteristics include differences in gender, age, ethnic background, income, occupation and education. Others include size of household, religious affiliation, nationality or social class. Usually categories such as age, income and education are further defined within given ranges.
Psychographic characteristics include interests, activities, opinions, values and attitudes. Such information helps businesses better understand what might appeal to their customers when designing advertising and marketing campaigns.
Behavioral characteristics include product usage rates, brand loyalty and length of patronage. By distinguishing between heavy, medium and light users, marketing departments can determine whom they should target and with what type of advertising.
Geographic characteristics are often based on market size, region, population density and climate. This kind of information clarifies preferences in taste and style within different regions, and can help small retailers find opportunities where larger competitors have no interest.